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Power Rankings: Powered by King Henrik, Rangers rise to the top

Henrik Lundqvist is says he starting to feel like his old self again and the results are bearing that out. He's won three straight for the Rangers, who find themselves with a chance to win their first Presidents' Trophy since 1994, and we all know how that season turned out.

With the Cam Talbot Show closing after a surprisingly long ans successful run on Broadway, Henrik Lundqvist has proved he’s ready to take over for the understudy and see the Rangers through what they hope will be their second consecutive long playoff run.

After struggling in his first game back with the Rangers, ‘King Henrik’ has allowed just five goals on 98 shots over the Rangers past three games, all of them wins. That helped the Rangers climb back into first place overall in the NHL standings and back to No. 1 in thn.com’s weekly Power Rankings. (Last week’s rankings in parentheses.)

1. N.Y RANGERS (5): The Rangers have killed 38 of 40 shorthanded situations in the past 14 games and Rick Nash, who is a regular on the second penalty kill for the Rangers, hasn’t been on the ice for a power-play goal against since Feb. 19. Coming up: Play the hottest team in the league tonight when they host Columbus, then two of three on the road to finish the season.

2. ST. LOUIS (9): The Blues 2-1 win over Chicago Sunday night represented the first time the Blues have defeated the Blackhawks in regulation time in Chicago since 2010. Coming up: Finish the season with three at home against Central Division foes Winnipeg, Chicago and Minnesota.

3. BOSTON (14): Both the Bruins and Milan Lucic have been energized by the line of Ryan Spooner between David Pastrnak and Lucic. It’s a wonder why coach Claude Julien insists on breaking them up every once in a while. Coming up: Three on the road against Washington, Florida and Tampa Bay.

4. COLUMBUS (15): Congratulations, Columbus, this is your Stanley Cup in 2015. The Blue Jackets have won nine in a row and 13 of their past 14. Coming up: The winning streak goes on the line tonight when they visit the Rangers, then finish the season with two of their final three games on home ice.

5. ANAHEIM (1): How can a team with so much talent and firepower have such a limp power play? The Ducks are 25th in the league with the man advantage and are on a 1-for-19 clip over their past nine games. Coming up: Home to Dallas Wednesday night, then finish the season in Arizona.

6. MONTREAL (3): If Max Pacioretty is out for any significant length of time, a team with such hallow scoring depth will be challenged to create offense even more at a time of year when goals are at a premium. Coming up: Home to Detroit Friday night then finish the season on the road in Toronto.

7. TAMPA BAY (8): The Lightning finished a five-game, nine-day road trip Saturday night, but will enjoy the comforts of home for a while. Their last two games are at the Amalie Arena and they have home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Coming up: Home to New Jersey and Boston.

8. LOS ANGELES (19): The Kings are clinging to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but does anyone else get the feeling they’re just playing us all for fools? Coming up: Three games on the road through western Canada, then close the season at home against San Jose.

9. NASHVILLE (4): After spending nine games on the injury list, James Neal took his place back on the top line with Mike Ribeiro and Filip Forsberg and scored in a 4-3 overtime loss to Dallas Saturday. Coming up: In Colorado and Dallas, with a home game against Minnesota jammed in between.

10. CHICAGO (7): The Blackhawks will play either Nashville or St. Louis in the first round. Either way, it will be required playoff viewing. Coming up: Home to Minnesota, then finish the season on the road in St. Louis and Colorado.

11. MINNESOTA (2): The Wild continues to shuffle bodies to deal with injuries. Captain Mikko Koivu is out with a scratched cornea, but Matt Cooke (expected back Tuesday night) and Jason Zucker (Thursday) are on the cusp of returning. Coming up: Home to Winnipeg tonight, then three tough road games against divisional foes Chicago, Nashville and St. Louis.

12. WASHINGTON (11): With his 23rd straight start, Braden Holtby broke the franchise record for consecutive starts by a goaltender in Sunday’s 2-1 win in Detroit. Coming up: With home-ice advantage in the first round on the line, they finish the season with home games against Boston and the Rangers.

13. N.Y. ISLANDERS (10): With points in each of their past three games, the Islanders saw their magic number to clinch a playoff spot reduced to one. Coming up: Road games in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, then the last-ever regular season game at the Nassau Coliseum Saturday against Columbus.

14. CALGARY (16): The Flames won their 22nd road game of the season Saturday night in Edmonton, which matched the franchise mark set by the 1988-89 Stanley Cup-winning team. Coming up: Home to Arizona and Los Angeles and a chance to break the franchise record Saturday afternoon in Winnipeg.

15. OTTAWA (18): After a month of enormous games, the Senators suddenly find themselves in the biggest game of the season Tuesday night when they host the…Pittsburgh Penguins? Who knew? Coming up: After the Pittsburgh game, two on the road against the Rangers and Philadelphia.

16. WINNIPEG (17): Four games remaining and all the Jets have to do is be better in those games than the defending Stanley Cup champions are in their final four. No sweat, right? Coming up: On road to Minnesota, St. Louis and Colorado before finishing the season at home to Calgary.

17. VANCOUVER (12): Goalie Ryan Miller practiced with his teammates Saturday for the first time since injuring his medial collateral ligament Feb. 22, which means the Canucks have three games to decide if he’ll be ready for the playoffs. Coming up: All three final games at home against Los Angeles, Arizona and Edmonton.

18. DETROIT (13): Thanks to a stretch in which they’ve won just two of their past eight games, the Red Wings suddenly find themselves in a battle for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Coming up: Home to Carolina Tuesday, then on the road in Montreal and Carolina.

19. PITTSBURGH (6): The Penguins are in the middle of a free-fall that could end up costing them a playoff spot. They’ve given up at least four goals in each of their past four losses and been outscored 18-7. Coming up: In Ottawa Tuesday night for what is suddenly an enormous game, then home to the Islanders and in Buffalo to finish the season.

20. SAN JOSE (24): After collecting nine of a possible 10 points to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, the Sharks saw them all but evaporate in a 5-3 loss to Arizona Saturday. Coming up: At home to Dallas tonight, then finish the season in Edmonton and Los Angeles.

21. DALLAS (20): The Stars kept their razor-thin playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 overtime win over Nashville Saturday, putting off the inevitable that could come as early as tonight. Coming up: On the road in San Jose tonight and Arizona Wednesday before closing the season at home against Nashville.

22. COLORADO (22): Even if the Avalanche runs the table this week, it will finish this season with 22 fewer points than it did in 2013-14. Coming up: Three home games against Central Division opponents Nashville, Winnipeg and Chicago.

23. FLORIDA (21): The Panthers made their yearly ritual official with a 4-0 loss in Tampa Saturday, marking the 17th time in the team’s 21 seasons that it has missed the playoffs. Coming up: Home to Boston and New Jersey, but the Panthers have been outscored 8-1 in their past two at home.

24. PHILADELPHIA (25): The Flyers finish the season with three games at home, meaning they clinched their worst road record (10-20-11) since 1971-72 with a 3-2 shootout loss in Carolina Saturday. Coming up: Home to the Islanders, Carolina and Ottawa.

25. CAROLINA (26): The Hurricanes gave up six 5-on-5 goals in a 6-1 loss to Florida last week. One of the biggest reasons for their poor showing this season is they’ve been outscored 160-121 in 5-on-5 play. Coming up: On the road in Buffalo, Detroit and Philadelphia before closing the season at home to Detroit.

26. TORONTO (27): The Leafs are approaching the final seven games of the season as a playoff series and could take it in six with a win over Columbus Thursday night. Hooray for them. Coming up: After visiting Columbus, they finish the season Saturday night at home to Montreal.

27. NEW JERSEY (28): As if this season hasn’t gone badly enough, the Devils suffered their worst loss to the Rangers since 1996 when they lost 6-1 at Madison Square Garden Saturday night. Coming up: They get a chance to redeem themselves when they host the Rangers Tuesday night, then finish the season in Florida and Tampa.

28. ARIZONA (29): Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has been the lone bright spot in the Coyotes lineup this season, tied the franchise record for goals in a season by a defenseman with his 23rd in a 5-3 win over San Jose Sunday. Coming up: In Calgary and Vancouver before closing the season at home against Anaheim.

29. BUFFALO (30): The Sabres could wrap up 30th place overall with a loss on home ice to Carolina tonight. Sabres fans, please cheer accordingly. Coming up: After tonight’s game, in Columbus before finishing the season against Pittsburgh.

30. EDMONTON (23): After a nice little late-season run with three wins to close March, the Oilers promptly went out and were outscored 17-3 in three consecutive losses. Coming up: Home to Los Angeles and San Jose, then close the season in Vancouver.

News

Coyotes’ Cunningham alert, awake and joking with teammates, but remains in hospital

There’s still no word as to what exactly caused Coyotes AHL captain Craig Cunningham to collapse on ice, but the 26-year-old was in contact with teammates and cracking jokes earlier this week.

More than two weeks after collapsing on the ice ahead of an AHL game between the Coyotes and Jets AHL affiliates, news has come that Craig Cunningham is starting to get back to his old self.

According to Tucson’s KVOA, Cunningham spoke with two teammates, Brandon Burlon and Christian Fisher, via FaceTime earlier this week, and both said that things are starting to look up for the 26-year-old Cunningham.

Fisher added that it was nice to see Cunningham, the captain of the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate Tucson Roadrunners, smiling again. But he wasn’t just smiling, he was also trying to have a good time with his teammates while hinting that he wants to get back on the ice.

“He was cracking jokes just as if he were here the next day," Fisher told KVOA. "It was pretty funny. He said he wanted us to come pick him up and take him to the rink. He was joking around. Stuff like that.”

The mystery still remains as to what caused Cunningham’s collapse, however. It came just moments before the game was set to start and resulted in medical staff in the building cutting away his equipment in order to attend to him. Cunningham ended up leaving the ice on a stretcher, was transported to hospital and he remained in critical but stable condition for much of the past two weeks.

Still, though, Burlon and Fisher said that there’s no “definitive answer” as to what caused Cunningham’s medical emergency. That’s more than all right with both players, too, so long as Cunningham’s health is starting to look up.

"What we do know is that he is doing well and we are moving forward here," Fisher told KVOA. "Hopefully, he will start the road to recovery now.”

Cunningham has suited up for 319 AHL games over the course of his career, netting 101 goals and 203 points, as well as scoring an additional three goals and eight points in 63 NHL games. He was drafted 97th overall by the Bruins in 2010, but was picked up by Arizona off waivers from Boston during the 2014-15 season.

Holland had been left in Toronto as the Maple Leafs opened a three-game western road trip in late November and has not suited up for the Leafs since Nov. 26. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound forward was a healthy scratch in 17 of the Leafs first 25 games this season.

In eight games, Holland has one assist and a minus-2 rating while averaging 10:43 in ice time a night. Holland is on a one-year, $1.3 million contract this season, and according to CapFriendly, is owed $881,111 for the remainder of the season.

"Peter is a big, solid centerman with good NHL experience," Coyotes general manager John Chayka said in a statement. "We look forward to having him join our team."

Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in November 2013, the Caledon, Ontario native appeared in 174 games with the Leafs, over parts of four seasons, scoring 25 goals and 63 points.

The 25-year-old also played a role in the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies reaching a seventh game of the conference finals during the 2014 Calder Cup playoffs.

For the Leafs, the move gives general manager Lou Lamoriello another contract spot to work with. Prior to the deal, Toronto had 48 contracts – two shy of the maximum of 50.

Friday’s move gives the Leafs the flexibility to sign goaltender Karri Ramo to a contract for the remainder of the season. The 30-year-old signed a professional tryout with the Marlies on Tuesday and made 33 saves in 3-2 loss to the Utica Comets on Wednesday night.

Since waiving goaltender Jhonas Enroth on Tuesday, and assigning him to the Marlies, the Leafs are looking for a suitable veteran presence behind Frederik Andersen and Ramo could fill the void.

The trade with the Coyotes also gives Lamoriello roster flexibility to activate forward Josh Leivo off non-roster injury reserve. Leivo has yet to play this season due to a lower body injury. The 23-year-old played five games with the Marlies earlier in the season as part of a conditioning assignment, but was deemed not ready to return to NHL action with the Leafs.

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Passion drives Boston College coach Jerry York to go old school

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Passion drives Boston College coach Jerry York to go old school

Faced with the prospect of not being able to fly to a game this weekend, Jerry York wasn't about to let that stop him from coaching Boston College.

Back in the late 1970s, Jerry York was the youngest coach in the nation. Now he’s the second oldest, behind Red Berenson, who turned 77 yesterday. York is in his 45th season behind the bench of a Division I team and he’s coached a mind-boggling 1,740 games. He’s won 1,025 of them, which is exactly 100 ahead of Ron Mason, who’s No. 2 on the all-time wins list. He’s guided five national championship teams and put countless players in the NHL, from Hall of Famer Rob Blake to current NHLers such as Johnny Gaudreau, Cory Schneider, Brian Boyle and Patrick Eaves.

In other words, he had perhaps earned the right to sit this one out. The 71-year-old dean of Division I hockey could have told associate coach Greg Brown to take the bench for one night. But faced with the prospect of not being able to fly to South Bend, Ind., to coach his Boston College Eagles against Notre Dame Saturday night because he’s recovering from surgery to repair a detached retina, York instead went old school for the 900-mile, 18-hour journey.

While the rest of the team chartered out of Boston Friday afternoon for a 90-minute flight, York had his director of hockey operations, John Hegarty, drive him to Albany Thursday afternoon. From there, York hopped an Amtrak train bound for South Bend that got in at about 8:30 Friday morning. And the most stunning thing about all of this is that York did this coach one game, not a weekend series. In fact, he figures Saturday night’s game will go until about 10 p.m., which means he’ll be able to take an Uber from the Compton Family Ice Arena to catch the midnight train that will let him retrace his steps, meaning he should get back to Boston sometime Sunday evening.

York missed six games early in the season while he was recovering from the surgery, but wasn’t about to sit any more out. So there he’ll be Saturday night, behind the Eagles bench, sporting an eye-patch and trying to help his team improve on its 8-0-1 record in Hockey East. It’s already the best start of any team in league history, but that’s not what is motivating him. It’s the passion for coaching that still drives him.

“All I need is a parrot on my right shoulder and I’ll be a buccaneer,” York said. “I think for me, this was a telltale sign that I still want to do this, that I have the passion to do it. This was a key indicator, if I didn’t want to do it I think that would be telling me something. I see Red Berenson at coaching conferences and we both like golf and other things, but I’d still rather be coaching than doing anything else. I love being behind the bench and I love tying up my skates at 2:30 every day.”

And York has a lot to be excited about this season. Despite losing seven players to the NHL from last year’s team, the Eagles have been a Hockey East juggernaut this season. Despite losing seven underclassmen to the NHL, the Eagles are the top team in their league and with an overall record of 13-5-1 has them the No. 4-ranked team in the nation. They’re second in the NCAA in goals scored with 71 and their goal differential of plus-30 is No. 1 in the nation.

“We have 13 freshmen this year,” York said. “That’s a lot of new guys. We were prepared to lose maybe three guys (to the NHL), but we got surprised and we had to scramble. We had to almost rebuild the whole program.”

It has helped that freshman Joe Woll, a third-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has more than filled the void left by Demko. The 6-foot-4, 202-pound native of St. Louis has been the team’s backbone and a large reason why the Eagles have given up only nine first-period goals in 19 games this season. They’re also outscoring their opponents 28-12 in the second period. The Eagles are led offensively by a small, skilled kid by the name of Gaudreau from New Jersey, just as they were two years ago. Matthew Gaudreau, whose brother Johnny won the Hobey Baker Award with the Eagles three years ago and turned pro with the Calgary Flames, leads the team with 6-16-22 totals in 19 games.

“This isn’t the most talented team I’ve ever had,” York said, “but it’s the most enjoyable for me to coach in a long time.”

The game against Notre Dame will be the last before the holidays. That means York won’t have to get on a plane until a trip to Pittsburgh after Christmas. He sees his doctor Dec. 23 and hopes to be cleared to fly after that. If not, he’ll likely be on the train to Pittsburgh because he’s not about to let a long travel day keep him from behind the bench.

“It’s not in my fabric,” he said of the prospect of missing games. “I feel just like Punch Imlach.”

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Cal Clutterbuck’s five-year extension won’t bite the Islanders for a couple of seasons, but when it does, it could cost the Islanders more than just money and cap flexibility.

Cal Clutterbuck is on pace to have his highest scoring season as a New York Islander, he’s averaging more ice time than he has in any other year with the club and he was given an alternate captaincy ahead of the campaign.

And even with all that, it’s hard to understand how exactly the Islanders saw fit to have the 29-year-old winger a five-year, $17.5-million extension.

Clutterbuck is undoubtedly one of the best at playing the specific role he plays, which is to say that if you’re looking for a hard-nosed player who’s going to put his body on the line, he’s your guy. Fans love him, teammates assuredly do, too, and he’s exactly the kind of bottom-six player that most GMs around the league would love to have on their team at the right price.

Problem is that it’s really tough to call $3.5 million per season the right price, and that’s exactly what Clutterbuck will be earning come the start of the 2017-18 campaign. That’s roughly the same cap hit as others such as Kyle Turris, Cam Atkinson, Joel Ward and Matt Read will be carrying next season, and that’s only to name a few.

Another worrisome part about the deal is that it’s hard to see how even the biggest fitness freak could maintain their ability to play Clutterbuck’s style into their mid-30s. The wear and tear on Clutterbuck’s body by the time he reaches the back-end of the contract could be substantial. Despite him playing up the lineup right now, he’s better suited to a bottom-six role and definitely will be later in his career. If he loses a step, $3.5 million will be a lot to fork over for a fourth-line winger and it’ll be a deal that’s near impossible to move.

But it goes beyond simply the signing of Clutterbuck, because there has now been a trio of deals handed out by Islanders GM Garth Snow that have been puzzling — and, truthfully, concerning — when it comes to the future of the team.

Ahead of free agency, there was the signing of Casey Cizikas to a five-year, $16.75-million deal. Then came the monster seven-year, $38.5-million contract inked by free agent Andrew Ladd. The Clutterbuck signing is No. 3.

It should be noted that the deals for Clutterbuck, Cizikas and Ladd don’t actually prevent the Islanders from doing all that much in the next two seasons. In fact, as of next season, every single current Islander forward will be locked up to a contract. Come 2018-19, when John Tavares becomes a free agent, the slate is wiped rather clean with the team able to operate with more than $40 million in cap space. Beyond Tavares, the Islanders’ UFAs come 2018-19 will include Josh Bailey, Nikolai Kulemin, Jason Chimera, Mikhail Grabovski and Thomas Hickey.

And $40-plus million can buy you a lot, and certainly it will allow the Islanders to hang on to Tavares, if he chooses to remain with the team. (Not to say he won’t, but a lot can happen between now and July 2018.) All the UFAs, save maybe Bailey and Hickey, will be allowed to head elsewhere, as well. A restricted free agent deal for Brock Nelson could be pricey, but the Islanders should realistically be able to lock him up. As of right now, the Islanders will also be without an NHL goaltender under contract, but there will be stop-gap options available. So, yes, the Islanders should be fine in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

However, things could get dicey after that.

Come 2019-20, the Islanders will watch Travis Hamonic become a UFA, see the end of entry-level deals for Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Joshua Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle and still have more than $12.3 million locked up in Ladd, Cizikas and Clutterbuck. Finding the money to lock up those five players, as well as any others who could be seeking new contracts around that time, will be incredibly difficult.

The cost of those trio of deals goes beyond money and cap space, though, because there’s a serious possibility the Islanders could waste some of the best years of Tavares’ career. If the Islanders can only afford to hang on to the pieces they have without being able to add any veteran or prime-aged players, it gets hard to see how this franchise takes the next step forward, even with Tavares in his prime.

They’ll need a few adds on defense, a few forwards who can contribute and the goaltending situation will need to be figured out. Ilya Sorokin should give Islanders fans hope, but even the best goaltending prospects sometimes don’t pan out in the big league. If the Islanders need to improve in goal when their prospects are hitting their stride, the money spent in the past seven months could very well prevent that from becoming a reality.

It’s big-money, head-scratcher deals like Clutterbuck’s that teams have had to buy their way out of in the past, and it’s scary to think the Islanders could have set themselves up for the same fate three times over. The Islanders' post-season performance was reason for excitement, but now it seems, more than anything, there's cause for concern about what the future could hold.